SAP claims record revenues for Q4

SAP has announced what it called a "record fourth quarter" with the last three months seeing a significant hike in software revenues.

The company made 1.5 billion (1.26 billion) in this area alone a rise of 34 per cent when compared to 2009.

"We are pleased to announce the best software sales quarter in the history of SAP," said Bill McDermott, co-chief executive (CEO) of SAP. "We achieved outstanding growth in all regions and customer segments."

The CEO might have a positive outlook now but the company has yet to take into account the massive $1.3 billion (819 million) fine laid at its doorstep following the TomorrowNow court case with Oracle. This will undoubtedly affect SAP's yearly results for 2010 and steal away a chunk of the profits it made.

At least the company is celebrating for now, with combined software and service revenue rising 27 per cent to 3.26 billion and total revenue hitting 4.08 billion an increase of 28 per cent since last year.

"This result is clear proof that focusing on innovation and customer value is the right strategy," added Jim Hagemann Snabe, SAP's other co-CEO.

Further details on the results and the conclusion of the yearly figures are due to be released on 26 January.

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.